A New Beginning: Redux
by Silverflames16
Summary: Hey guys, this is a re-imagined version of my first fic, A New Beginning. Co-written with my friend Goldeneye
1. Just Another Day

**AN: Hey guys, Silverflames here. So, from now on, I will be publishing all the works and while Goldeneye will be co-writing these fics with me, I will be our voice to you guys. (If this all seems a little random, read the profile page, then come back) Here we are, back at it again. I hope you guys enjoy it, but I know it has been a while. I'm sorry for being away so long. But I've gotten it all straightened out and I'm fully focused. As always, constructive criticism is welcome as are personal messages, I read all reviews and messages and try to respond promptly, I'm always happy to make new friends. Lastly, a disclaimer, I do not take credit for the creation of any of Sega's fine characters in the Sonic Universe. **

* * *

"Just another day, that's all this is going to be." Silver said to himself as he rummaged through his drawers, looking for a shirt to wear. The sun wasn't up yet, it wasn't going to be for at least another hour. But he had things to do and there just wasn't enough hours in the day. Feeling around in the dark, Silver's hand finally found a shirt and pulled it out. He made use of the soft glow emanating from his hands to make sure the shirt was right side out and then threw it on. He walked towards the hole in the wall of his room, taking a gaze out over the city. The sea of lava gave everything a reddish glow, even at night. Funny how even after Iblis was gone, so much of his devastation remained. Silver let out a sigh,

"It's just another day." Of course, all days started out something like this. Silver waking up before sunrise, before everyone else. There was work to do and people needed him. After Iblis' removal from this world, things began to get better. The skies were no longer covered by a thick cloud of smoke and ash, at least, not every day anymore. Sometimes the sun would even shine or if they were really lucky, it would rain. Of course, Crisis City didn't improve all that much. The lava flows that had been formed by the demon still remained, and they probably would for several hundred years. Iblis' minions remained as well, though their numbers had greatly decreased and were being hunted down each day. Most would retreat deep and would have to be flushed out by patrols of trained fighters.

The colony where Silver resided grew in size. What was once a settlement of only about 30 beings had grown to almost 200 in the last 10 years. Iblis' defeat made it possible to search for other and made space available to support new life. Food was scarce, most of it was synthetic. However, rainfalls had been increasing as the sulfur in the atmosphere began to disperse which made it possible to grow a few species of plants on the roof of the colony, provided they could be given enough sunlight, these plants produced some of the first natural fruit in nearly 200 years, a welcome treat for special occasions. Life was hard but manageable, Silver noticed people smiling more often, himself included, the worst was over, now it was time to rebuild.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Silver descend the stairs from his room, down to the main sleeping area of the colony. After his triumph over Iblis, Silver returned to his people who hailed him a hero. And while he was happy that the lava leviathan had been vanquished, it came at a terrible cost, his best friend: Blaze. Not a day went by that he didn't miss his friend, he blamed himself for being unworthy, unable to bear Iblis'. He did all he could to ensure that her sacrifice wouldn't be forgotten.

Of course, people saw past that. They look to Silver for guidance, to be their leader, a responsibility he didn't assume lightly. It took a fair amount of convincing that finally culminated in an election to put Silver in charge of the colony's safekeeping. As fate would have it, Silver made a great leader. While he was naive to a fault, this enable him to focus, not only on survival, but on improving the quality of life in the colony. He was fair and patient, a trait he learned in his hunt for the Iblis Trigger. He was hesitant to pass judgement and always sought to do what was best for the most people. Sure, there would be times that he lost sight of important things such as food and supplies, and he could be rather petty from time to time, almost childlike in a way and he never reacted that well to criticism, ironically enough, this was a fault he did recognize and had been working to improve. Of course, this only got better over ten years. Silver had grown a lot both as a person and as a leader.

Silver did his best to slip by without waking anyone, who were still asleep in their beds and would be for a little while longer. Another thing Silver learned, the value of a good night's rest, little things like that will go a long way.

Sneaking past those still asleep and into the mess, Silver noticed a few awake at this hour, usuals who were up this early either because they couldn't sleep or because they, like Silver, had much to do and not enough hours to do it in.

"Good morning Bishop." Silver said to the dark green wolf sitting alone at a table, eating his breakfast. The wolf only nodded in reply to Silver, acknowledging the greeting and continued eating. Silver went down to the other end of the main table and sat with two more, a purple hedgehog and a blue leopard.

"Good morning Drake, Samantha." Silver warmly greeted his friends.

"Is it morning already?" The hedgehog Drake asked. Drake was a young, headstrong, and reckless. He also didn't sleep much which made him the prime candidate for night watchman.

"Don't worry Drake, the sun's going to be up soon and then you can get some sleep." The leopard Samantha teased.

"Good morning to you too Silver." Samantha added. Samantha was Silver's second in command. Even before Silver was in charge, Samantha had been a _de facto_ leader of Silver's people and was a natural candidate to be his top lieutenant. They worked well together to make sure everything got done. And while most of Silver's responsibilities were things that were rather involved, Samantha handled the day to day operations: making sure everyone got fed, the laundry gets done, disputes got settled, etc.

"So, what's the plan for today Sam?" Silver asked, reaching for a bowl and a box labeled "Breakfast: Oatmeal".

"Well, I've got menus to draw up for next week, the engineers are going to give their weekly report, and I need to make sure that inventory gets completed by the end of the day and submitted to the you so we can making a list of things for the scouts to look for." Samantha explained, taking a drink of her coffee to signify that she was finished. "What about you sir?"

"I told you Sam, don't call me sir. And as for me, I've got to attend that meeting with the engineers as well, there's a cell of worms and biters nearby that I'm going to attend to, I don't want anyone else messing with them when we have so little information aside from where they are." Silver said, pouring himself some powder from the box and adding water from a pitcher on the table to make a sort of goop.

"Then just send the scouts to get an idea on number and we can send a party to clear them out tomorrow." Samantha suggested. "I know you have other things you need to do today."

"No. That cell is too close to wait any longer, it needs to be dealt with now. And don't worry about the rest of my schedule, it's just another day." Silver said, his voice getting a little stern.

"Silver, you and I both know that's a lie." Samantha said.

"Just drop it Samantha. I'll have plenty of time." Silver said, hoping she'd let it go.

"Alright, but if you need some help, come find me, I know it can be hard." Samantha said, placing a hand on Silver's back before getting up to go about her day. Silver shook his head after she was out of sight, but when he looked up to start a conversation with Drake, the hedgehog was out cold, face first onto the table. Silver cracked a little smile before getting up to make sure Drake got to his bed.

* * *

The conference room was empty, save Silver, Sam, and the two engineers they were meeting with. All four sat at the table in the center looking over some sketches of the colony. Silver felt a little anxious, he was working with some gauze, trying to bandage the cut on his arm that one of those worms managed to inflict. The worm was quick and caught Silver off guard, just another reminder of how this world is still really dangerous, no matter how safe it may seem. Of course, Silver would never have been off guard if he hadn't been thinking about the day. "It's just another day." He thought to himself.

"So, with any luck, we should be able to reinforce the building at these points, which should force any attackers into this chokepoint." One of the engineers, a dog, said, pointing three spots on a rough sketch of the colony. It was almost dinner and people were beginning to get ready for the evening meal Silver looked over to Samantha, who studied the sketch closely, she always took her job so seriously.

"That looks good Robert." Silver said. "I'll have a team get started on it first thing in the morning."

"Thank you sir." The engineer called Robert replied.

"That'll be all." Samantha added. Robert nodded and collected his sketches before filing out with his companion.

"They really do work hard." Samantha said, turning to Silver.

"I agree, it's good to know there are people who work hard for this colony."

"So, what happened? Looks like those things got you in pretty good." Samantha asked, motioning to the gauze Silver had been fussing with.

"It's nothing, I just got careless, I'll be alright." Silver said dismissively, standing up.

"Are you going to dinner?" Samantha asked. Silver contemplated lying of r a moment, to get her off his case about it, but he knew it was pointless, she'd follow him if he did.

"No, I've still got some stuff to do Sam." Silver replied.

"You want me to help, I know how important it is to you." Samantha offered. Silver only shook his head.

"No thank you Sam, I'd rather be alone." Silver said before walking out of the room.

* * *

Many would find levitating over a river of Lava intimidating, but after all these years, Silver was just used to it, he didn't even notice anymore. Not that he would have noticed enough to care anyways, flying alone through the city with nothing but his thoughts now. "It's just another day." Silver thought to himself, the same lie he'd been telling himself all day. It wasn't just another day, he wouldn't have to affirm that if it was. It's been ten years and he still can't get over despite all claims to himself that he was. The sun was setting now and the breeze that had been blowing all day was finally dying. It caused a certain calmness to wash over the city. Strange, how even a destroyed, burning city could still install a sense of peace, and given where Silver was heading, he needed it.

Arriving at his destination, a small platform peninsula on the edge of the city sticking out over what used to be a lake of lava, of course, this lava all receded with Iblis' removal. On the end of the peninsula sat a small marker with a plaque. Silver descended to the platform and approached the plaque. On either side of the plaque was a glowing gem, beautifully cut , shinning in a fabulous spectrum any light that contacted them, the chaos emeralds. Silver approached the plaque, he had made it himself, but still read the words it bore:

_On this spot, two brave heroes stood their ground against the most terrible threat this world had ever faced. The Flames of Disaster: Iblis. And while the hero's were victorious in vanquishing this foe, they were unable to permanently remove him. So, one brave hero, the bravest of them all, a cat named Blaze took the burden of containing the beast within her soul and then sealing herself to another dimension so that the beast might never harm another. This plaque is to commemorate the brave sacrifice of she who gave herself up, so that other might live._

The inscription nearly brought Silver to tears as he fell to his knees before the plaque. Ten years to the day and he still couldn't let it go.

"I'm sorry Blaze, I did all that I could, and it wasn't enough. If I had been stronger, maybe you'd still be here. Maybe none of this would have happened." Silver said, tears welling up in his eyes. "You were my best friend, what else can I do." He continued, placing his hand on the plaque.

"Silver?" A voice said from behind him. He recognized it immediately, but didn't make any movement.

"Dora? What are you doing here?" Silver asked, now standing up to face the newcomer, the black fox by the name of Dora.

"Sam said you'd be here, she was worried about you." Dora said.

"I'm fine, I just need a few minutes." Silver replied, wiping his eyes. Dora walked closer to Silver.

"You miss her, don't you?" Dora asked. Silver could only nod. With a warm smile, Dora wrapped her arms around Silver to give him a hug, one which he returned. "She was really brave." Dora said, tightening her arms around Silver.

"Yeah, she was." Silver replied, releasing Dora from his grasp. The fox leaned back and moved her eyes up to meet his, her sapphire piercing his amber. She gave him another smile before leaning in to for a kiss which Silver returned, a lock quickly broken.

"I love you." Silver said to his mate. Dora blushed for a moment before smiling.

"Let's go home." Dora said, taking his hand.

* * *

**AN: Also, this is a promise and feel free to hold me to it, updates guarenteed to be at least once a week. Expect the next chapter to be out no later than midnight 2/24. If it isn't, come up with some sort of punishment and message me. **


	2. Scouting Trip

**AN: As promised. Comments or pm's welcome, as always. I hope you all enjoyed chapter 1.**

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"I'm telling you Silver, we should seriously think about moving part of the colony into one of these adjacent buildings, we're gonna need more space." Samantha said over a bowl of re hydrated cornmeal. She and Silver had been having this discussion for weeks now, Silver was reluctant, however. It was early in the morning and he didn't feel like debating either.

"We don't have the manpower to move part of the colony. You're talking about doubling our facilities, doubling the number of people we need to have on guard." Silver replied, in between bites of cornmeal.

"We have over 200 people, I'm sure we can train a couple more people how to fight." Samantha argued.

"Bishop? Do we have the manpower to train more people to fight?" Silver said, calling over to the wolf who was trying to avoid getting caught in the middle.

"No Sir, I don't think I can spare one man to train 3 or 4 nuggets how to fight of the occasional bandit or creature." The tired wolf replied sarcastically.

"See, Bishop is on my side." Samantha said, triumphantly.

"I'm not on anyone's side Sam, I'm just saying that if we needed to train a couple people to be guards, I could have a man do it. I still think expanding is a little risky." The wolf added, not trying to make anyone upset.

"Fine Sam, if you feel we need to expand, have the engineers begin looking over some of the adjacent buildings and then start giving me numbers on how this relocation would work." Silver didn't feel like continuing to argue, so he gave her what she wanted. Satisfied, Sam finished her cornmeal and left to go about her day. Silver could only shake his head and go back to eating his cornmeal.

"You two going at it again?" A voice said over Silver's shoulder. Silver turned to see Dora standing behind him, her arms crossed and a smile on her face.

"Yes. Same as always. She wants to expand." Silver replied, motioning for his mate to sit down. Dora took the invitation and sat down beside Silver, giving him a kiss on his cheek.

"You two when you bicker, it reminds me a lot of when you and Blaze used to argue." Dora teased, taking Silver's spoon and scooping a bite of his cornmeal.

"It's not so much arguing as it is debating our difference of opinions. I still wouldn't want anyone else working with me. And when Blaze and I would argue, it would never be over something so trivial." Silver replied, placing his arm around Dora's shoulder. "So why are you up this early? You're not usually up when I get to work."

"The bed was cold this morning." Dora sheepishly replied.

"Well I'd love to just lay in bed with you, but unfortunately I have a colony I need to keep running." Silver replied.

"Oh glorious leader, whatever would we do without you?" Dora said, mocking the steadily growing ego of her mate. "So what do you have to do to keep us running?"

"Today, not much. I was going to lead a group of scouts to the south edge of the city, maybe set up an outpost. The initial scout report suggests that we may find some useful salvage there as well." Silver said, reclaiming his spoon and taking another bite of cornmeal.

* * *

"Keep close everyone, we're not far now." Silver said to the rest of his group of three accompanying him. Navigating Crisis City was much more difficult on foot. Finding cross-able passages often proved difficult and Silver would need to stand on station so as to catch anyone that might fall. Even worse, the odds of disturbing a nest of monsters was much more likely on foot, which put everyone at risk.

"It should be just beyond this overpass sir." One of his scouts behind him said. The group continued forward. It was a little intimidating, looking at all these buildings from from underneath. Their looming lifelessness inspired a feeling of dread and doom, something Silver never really noticed fly above the city. He also couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching them.

"Hey!" One of the scouts called from behind Silver. Everyone turned towards him and saw that he was running in a direction away from them, towards one of the skyscrapers. Silver and the other two scouts chased after him. Silver, being able to fly, was able to catch up quickly.

"Ray, what is it!?" Silver asked his scout, still in pursuit of whatever he saw.

"I saw a person, they ran into that skyscraper!" The scout replied. Silver only nodded and surged ahead. He flew into a hole near the bottom of the skyscraper, a building that used to house hundreds. Inside, Silver quickly scanned for the person, catching sight of a figure that began to ascend a flight of stairs.

"Hey wait, stop!" Silver called and ran after the fleeing person. Silver chased up the stairs, shedding his pack that was weighing him down. Up the stairs and around a corner, Silver caught sight of the fleeing individual again, running down a hallway. Silver levitated himself to chase the person down. And while the mystery runner was fast, they couldn't outrun Silver who quickly caught up and passed the runner. Stopping in front, Silver intercepted the person who tried to run him over. Throwing one psychokinetic wave out, Silver managed to hold this person in place so he could get a good look. The runner was a hawk, brown feathers, he looked like a mess. His cloths were torn and his messenger pack was held together by a clip.

"Calm down. Why are you running?" Silver said to the frightened young hawk. The hawk continued to struggle, trying to free himself from Silver's psychokinetic grasp, to no success.

"Hey! What's you're name? Why are you running from us?" The hawk still said nothing.

"Silver!?" A voice called out from down the hall, one the scouts.

"I'm here Aiden, I caught up to our runner." Silver called back. Down the hall, the three scouts emerged from the stair case and scanned for Silver. Catching sight of the two, the scouts walked over towards them.

"Who is he?" One of the scouts asked.

"He hasn't said." Silver replied. The hawk continued to squirm.

"Enough, you won't get out unless he lets you go." One of the scouts said to the struggling hawk.

"Listen, we're not going to hurt you. I'm going to let you go, but I need you to not try and run off. Just stay and talk for a minute." Silver said.

"Ok." The hawk finally said. Silver released him from grip, returning control of the hawk's body to him once more.

"Now, let's start with names. My name is Silver. This is Aiden, Rex, and Mikael. Who are you?" Silver said motioning to his 3 scouts.

"My name is Sky." The hawk replied, still visibly nervous.

"Why were you running from us, Sky?" Silver inquired.

"I was scared." The hawk answered.

"Do you have a place where you stay? People to stay with?" Silver asked.

"I have a group, we live here." The hawk replied.

"How many?" Silver asked.

"I don't think I should tell you." Sky responded, now showing a little bravery.

"I'd like to know. We have a group of around 200, and could always make room for a few more. " Silver said warmly.

"Ok, but if I take you to them, you need to let me talk at first. Our leader might try and kill you all if you don't let me explain. She says there are dangerous people." Sky said, still a little nervous.

"Don't worry about us, I'm sure she can't hurt us. Besides, we don't mean any harm, I'm sure she'll understand. But she's right, there are some very bad people here." Silver replied.

* * *

The group of now 5 ascended several more flights of stairs in the building. Reaching the 12th floor, Sky stopped and turned to Silver's group.

"Alright, we're on this floor. Just wait a minute and let me go explain. I'll come back." Sky said before disappearing down a corridor.

"Sir, do you think we should be wasting our time with this kid?" One of the scouts, Aiden, asked.

"I see no reason not to, he was just scared." Silver replied, leaning against a wall.

"But what if his group is hostile and he's going to warn them?" Aiden said in protest.

"Just be patient, I'm sure we can handle whoever it may be." Silver said dismissively.

"That kid said his leader was really bad, are you sure you can handle her?" Aiden continued.

"I'm sure she's not too much trouble, he was scared." Silver replied, not wanting to continue to entertain his scout's irrational ideas.

The group waited around for a few more minutes before footsteps could be heard returning. Everyone looked to see Sky returning.

"Alright, she's agreed to meet with you Silver, but only you." Sky said and motioned for Silver to follow him. Silver nodded and the two set off back down the corridor.

"I'm surprised actually, I sort of expected her to send you guys away." Sky said, now sounding much more relaxed. Silver gave no response and kept walking all the way to the end of the corridor, through an archway into a more open space. There 8 other people all sitting around space, eating a meal.

"She's right through there." Sky said, pointing at a door across the space.

"Thank you Sky." Silver said, walking past the other members of his group who shot odd glances at him, visibly nervous because of his presence. He shrugged them off and knocked on the door.

"It's open." A female voice called from the other side. Silver opened the door, stepping inside what appeared to be an office of sorts. From the door, Silver saw a makeshift bed in the corner with a couple bags set nearby. A person was standing, facing a broken window overlooking Crisis City. They stood there in silence for several minutes.

"Hello?" Silver finally said, unsure of what this person was waiting for. The person finally turned around stunning Silver in place. Standing before him, like a ghost, was Blaze. Silver scanned up and down the person before him, unable to believe it was her, it couldn't be. She stood there in silence, her amber eyes burning a hole in his mind. She didn't wear the dress that he was used to. Instead, she wore the cloths of a common survivor. Faded t-shit and a ripped pair of pants. She wore a cloak, presumably to shield herself from the dust. She looked older, though still the same relative age to Silver. Her hair was done up either, but instead kept in a bun.

"Blaze?" Silver said, still in disbelief. Her eyebrows raised, but she initially gave no response. They stood there for another moment, just staring at each other in awkward silence. Finally breaking the silence, Blaze opened her mouth to speak.

"How do you know my name?" The woman said in reply.


	3. Discussion

**AN: Enjoy all, comment or pm or whatever, I love to hear from you guys**

* * *

"How do I...Blaze, what are you doing here?" Silver said, barely able to translate thoughts into words. There she was, his old friend standing right in front of him, acting as though she has no idea who he was. It couldn't be, this must have been a trick or a mistake, but it all seemed so real.

"I'll ask you again, how do you know my name?" The Blaze impersonator said again, this time with more demand in her voice.

"Don't you remember me?" Silver said, feeling his heart break a little. His best friend didn't recognize him.

"I've never seen you before in my life. But if you don't start giving me some answers, I don't think I'll see you again either." Blaze said, growing irritated with Silver.

"Blaze, you and I used to be friends. We fought the monster Iblis, we travel in time to try and stop it. And when we finally managed to defeat it, you sacrificed yourself to seal the monster in your soul and then vanished to another dimension." Silver said, trying to explain himself. Blaze only laughed a little.

"Well that is a really amusing story Silver, but I don't remember any of that." Blaze said. The words cut deeper into him, how could she not remember any of it, all they went through...

"Then how did you get here? What do you remember?" Silver asked, trying to find some explanation as to why all this was happening.

"Well, I am the princess of a kingdom known as Solindra. We rule over a chain of islands in the south ocean of my world. My duty to me people is to serve as guardian over 7 mystical gems known as the Sol Emeralds as well as defend my people from a vicious tyrant know as Dr. Eggman Nega. One day, about 3 months ago, I was working to stop Eggman Nega's latest scheme, some sort of inter-dimensional portal that he was planning to use to summon all sorts of horror." Blaze began to pace back and forth, shifting her gaze back towards the ruined cityscape once more.

"What I didn't expect was the trap he set. I let my guard down and he lured me into the portal. Next thing I know, I'm in a destroyed city, this city. I found this group scared, being attack by some sort of molten creatures and saved them. They almost immediately asked me to join them, and I decided it would be a better plan than running through this place alone. They've put me in charge of their safety and well being, so you'll have to forgive me if I'm not as quick to accept your good intentions as Sky was." Blaze said, finishing her story.

"He's a nice enough boy, it doesn't hurt to be quick to accept others, especially with as few of us as there are." Silver replied.

"That's an awfully naive viewpoint Silver; a good way to get people killed." Blaze said chidingly. There it was, that word again, coming from Blaze no less.

"You seemed to like that I was quick to accept you all those years ago." Silver replied rather jadedly.

"I told you Silver, I've never known you. But it does seem like you knew someone very similar in appearance to me, so I'll humor you. What was this doppelganger of mine like?" Blaze said, curious to learn about the person Silver was hoping she is.

"She was independent, and brave. She always fought to protect people who couldn't protect themselves, no matter how much they disliked her. She was a great friend, someone I could depend on. There was never a time when I felt that she was to busy to talk and I always made sure I was available to talk to her. She was reserved, some people may have even called her cold, ironically so, seeing as how she had pyrokinesis. She hated her powers, always calling them a curse. Some people might have even thought that she hated herself, hated what she was. But I didn't and I don't think she did either. She was a good friend." Blaze was a little unsure how to react. This hedgehog gave such a vivid description of her. How could he know?

"Well, that was extensive. She must have been a good friend." Blaze responded.

"She was more than a good friend, she was my best friend." Silver explained nostalgically. Why nostalgically? Blaze was standing right in front of him.

"So, what exactly are you and a group of your people doing here?" Blaze inquired, hoping to find out more about Silver's group.

"We were scouting. We have a colony set up about 8 klicks north of here, about 200 in total. We were going to set up an observation post and see what kind of salvage we could find." Silver explained.

"Seems innocent enough, tell me, would your colony have room for a few more people?" Blaze asked.

"We'd be happy to take you all in if that's what you're suggesting, there's strength in numbers." Silver answered cheerfully.

"Well, I'm just looking to get these people to safety, then I need to find a way back to my own world." Blaze explained.

"You don't have to go. With your pyrokinesis, we could really use you." Silver said, hoping she'd reconsider leaving.

"I don't think so. I've got my own people to help, no doubt they're at the mercy of that madman." Blaze replied.

"Well, where are you going to go?" Silver inquired.

"Honestly, I'm not sure yet. I don't know where there is to go in this world. But I'll figure something out." Blaze explained.

"Well, until you do, you're welcome to stay with us." Silver said hopefully. Blaze only returned a smile.

* * *

After informing the rest of his group about what was going to happen next, Silver instructed his scouts to finish the trip while he would lead Blaze's group back to the colony. The scouts were initially skeptical, but respected Silver's authority. Once his followers had been sent on their way, Silver helped Blaze's group gather their things and prepare them to move.

"Alright, it's not too far away, so stay close." Silver instructed the waiting group of survivors.

"Listen to Silver everyone, he's a good person." Blaze added, affirming his command.

"We should be there before nightfall." Silver added. It was nice having her back, tagging along.

* * *

**AN: As promised, one week from the last update. **


End file.
